But despite a lively history of revolt, Ghent has managed to avoid the devastation so-often meted out to other Flemish cities. It has also managed to dodge the tourist hordes typically headed for the bright lights of Bruges or Brussels.

As a result Ghent remains an eminently approachable feast for the sight-see-er, its streets groaning with the full architectural load of history – streets which are happily not too crowded out by visitors.

But it's also a modern bustling centre of commerce, sustained by the Belgium's third largest port, the cultural capital for East Flanders, and home to the 40,000 students and staff of Ghent University (which is one of the top 100 universities in the world).

The city has waxed and waned with the canal arteries, that have often struggled to connect it to the sea, some 25 miles north.

Offshoots of those same canals thread through the city itself, offering a touch of Amsterdam to this Dutch-speaking city, which is similarly mad on bicycles.

In fact that proudest of British Olympic cyclists, Bradley Wiggins, was born right here in Ghent. But Ghent's story didn't start with two wheels – rather with four legs and a woolly back. Because what first placed Ghent on the map, for the rest of the world, was its expertise in transforming the sheep of Flanders into the finest Flemish cloth.

Beer lovers flock to Ghent for third Great Belgian Beer Dinner

GHENT - Five chefs, one beer sommelier, nine dishes and as many beers in an exceptional location are the ingredients tha ... [ more ]

What made Ghent special in the Middle Ages, though, was those flat water-meadows, where the rivers met: they were ideal for grazing sheep.

Although the wool industry proper kicked off in neighbouring Bruges, it was Ghent's genius at working wool into cloth that led to it becoming the wool-working centre of Flanders – and the second largest city of the Medieval era, after Paris.

By the late 13th century, wool was pouring in from England, and even Scotland, and the city wool-working guilds were exporting Ghent's fine cloth across Europe.

However, the Hundred Year war between France and England, in the 14th century, did Ghent no favours, and the city was punished for its alliances with England.

Ghent then fell under the influence of the Dukes of Burgundy. It was still a rich, and proudly independent, city in the 15th century – but the powerful Duke, Philip the Good, saw that wealth in his vassal city as ready for higher taxes. Philip the Good
The guildsmen of Ghent begged to differ, and there was revolt in the city – the first of many thumbing's-of-the-nose by the city's inhabitants to their supposed rulers.

That revolt led to a war – involving some of the world's first pitched artillery battles and 20,000 dead – a war that didn't go too well for the city.

But Ghent was spared the worst when the city's elders decided to surrender, after its army was defeated in the woods to the south, rather than suffer assault.

The Burgundians were soon replaced by Hapsburg’s. Then, in 1500, Ghent was the birthplace for a colossus of 16th century Europe – and an eventual nemesis of the city – Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain.

In 1539 Ghent's Council tore up a calf-skin treaty which Charles V had imposed on them, and rejected his new taxes.

Charles simply marched his army from Spain, up through France, and right through Ghent's gates – and the surprised rebels offered no resistance when the Holy Roman Emperor was seen at the head of the soldiers.

Charles decided humiliation, rather than destruction, was the order of the day, and marched the city's notables barefoot – some in white under-shirts with nooses around their necks – to his palace, to beg for mercy. Since then, to be a "noose bearer", or Stroppendrager, has been a badge of honour Charles V
for Ghentians – and every summer they re-enact the parade as part of the Ghent Festival (Gentse Feesren).

Charles V stripped Ghent of all its privileges. Then the continuous war that erupted between Spain and the Dutch, in the 16th and 17th centuries – which ran back and forwards around Ghent – left it as a city of dwindling trade, and importance.

That decline paused in 1800, when a Ghent local successfully stole the English designs for weaving machines. Ghent fast-forwarded itself into the Industrial Revolution – making cloth from cotton, rather than wool this time.

Ultimately, in that revolt the Belgians won – with a little help from the French – and a new country was born.

That was great for the newly-created Kingdom of Belgium. But not so great for Ghent.

Its freshly dug canal, north into the Scheldt estuary, opened out onto the now-hostile shores of the Netherlands.

Trade was restricted, the cotton-weaving industry collapsed, and workers' wages went south with it. Ghent was to endure a long dark tea-time of its soul, before its ultimately successful reinvention – as a city of study and culture – in the last 50 years.

The University also puts some of its student residences out for rent, at fair prices, during the summer months. There are also a large number of well-furnished, and well-presented, hotels at the lower end of the pricing scale.

And naturally Ghent has a good number of top notch four-star hotels, making the most of the city's historic architectural charms (though sadly it has no five-star hotels, so no first-class pent-rooms to cater for those from the more pampered classes).

If you're keen to bring your own roof, however, in the shape of a tent or caravan awning, then Ghent has just the thing for you in the west of the city.

Tucked into a curve of the Ringvaart is the Blaarmeersen Sports and Recreation Park, which has tennis courts, football pitches and its own beach. It also provides pitches for campers and caravanners, and has been rated as a four-star camp-site.

That's because beer courses as strongly through the arteries of the typical 'Stroppendrager' as the water that flows along Ghent's many canals and rivers – and fortunately for the beer-tourist, it tastes much better too!

But history has not been kind to Ghent's indigenous brewers. Where once they could be counted in the hundreds (peaking at over 500 in the 17th century) today there is just one.

But on the left bank, which was ruled by a French-speaking elite, the brewers kept to the much older tradition of gruut beer-making. This used a whole range of local herbs to add flavour to malted beers, and avoided hops entirely.

Now Ghent is one of the few places leading a resurgence in gruut-ales, through the work of the Gruut Brewery.

You can visit the Brewery for demonstrations, and to sample one (or more) of the five distinct beers made available for the ale connoisseur: Gruut White, Blond, Amber, Brown and Inferno.

Alongside the beers from Gruut, there is another beer with a strong link to this medieval city and its inhabitants.

Although it is brewed thirty kilometres away from Ghent in the town of Oudenaarde, "Gentse Strop" from the Roman brewery (well known for its Adriaen Brouwer and Ename beer) is undeniably connected with the city.

The two cities are also historically bound through Emperor Charles V. The beer was launched in May 2011 and is a blond beer, with an alcohol content of 6%.

Tierenteyn manages to be hot, without being eye-watering, on account of the greater amount of white mustard seed blended into it.

Apparently this mustard is good to eat with another Ghent speciality, 'hoofdvlak' (hoofdvlees), a jellied brawn made from a boiled pig's head.

Sweetmeats are popular here – as well as pralines, the local confectioners stock distinctive 'Gentse neus' (or Ghent's little-noses), which are purple, raspberry-flavoured suckable treats, filled with jelly. They are also likely to have plenty of 'babeluten' ('babblers'), which are hard butterscotch sweets.

Ghent also has its own version of the bagel, the mastel, which is also called 'Saint Hubert bread', as it's traditionally eaten on that saint's feast day (November the 3rd). Eat plenty of these if you're unfortunate enough to be bitten by a dog – apparently it's a cure for rabies!

Here you might want to try the 'Stoverij meat stew' (with plenty of brown beer of course), or the local 'Gentse Waterzooi'.

This creamy stew was once made with local fish, but since they became a rarity, chicken is a common substitute.

And as an alternative to washing these down with a Belgian ale, the fragrant Roomer elderflower makes for a very refreshing alternative. Of course the aroma of Belgian fries, is never far from the hungry visitor in Ghent, with great examples to sample all around town. The frituur's around the 'Kleine Vismarkt' bridge, though, do come highly recommended.

And if you want to have a gastronomic break from all things Flanders, the de Zuid quarter around Vlaanderenstraat and the Brabantdam is home to just about every national cuisine under the sun. See our travel guide categories Sweet Tooth and Where to Eat for more information.

Look out for the eclectic cigar, antique book and patisserie-shops, nestled in among the brand names – especially along the pedestrian-friendly Hoogpoort.

As well as the obligatory fresh veg and fruit stalls of the Groentenmarkt, which deck the central square every morning (except Sunday's), Ghent also has a number of thriving specialist markets.

Oude Beestenmarkt, for example, displays a menagerie of beasts, birds and fish at the 'Vrijdagmarkt' (confusingly on a Sunday, not a Friday).

Second-hand books stalls have become the backdrop to walks along the banks Lys on Sunday's, where purveyors of old vinyl, posters, comics and pulp-fiction (by the box-full) congregate and invite haggling.

And flowers take centre-stage everyday along the central market strip of the Kouter, with both fresh-cut flowers and potted plants for sale.

The 12th-century castle of Gravensteen looms ominously over the river, just north of here. It was built by Philip of Alsace, and is modelled on the brutal defensive efficiency of the Crusader castles of the Holy Land. Inside you'll find a museum dedicated to its history as a fortress, a prison and a torture centre – various instruments of torture, and a guillotine, are on display.

To find something a little more uplifting, move south from the Graslei area, and cross over onto the right-bank of the River Lys. Here you'll come onto the Cataloniëstraat, a road which unites three of Ghent's biggest landmarks – St. Nicholas' Church, the Belfry and St. Bavo Cathedral.

That impressive 300-foot building is much taller than St. Nicholas' Church, and once housed a giant bell named Roland ('Klokke Roeland'). It served to warn Ghent of incoming armies and threats.

In fact, Roland in the Belfry became a symbol of Ghent defiance, and recognised as such by foes such as Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor.

On conquering Belgium, he promptly removed Roland the bell from the Belfry. But it is the last monument in this line – St. Bavo's Cathedral – which houses Ghent's greatest treasure; one moreover it has managed to hold onto against all the odds.

The Ghent Altarpiece is a collection of 12 painted panels, laid down by local-boy, and master of the Northern Renaissance style of painting, Jan van Eyck. It depicts a series of religious scenes, all centred around the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb.

More modern works of art can be found at the City Museum for Contemporary Art (Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst or SMAK),which includes works by Andy Warhol.

If archaeology and history are more your thing, then a wander round the Museum for Industrial Archaeology and Textiles (Museum voor Industriële Archeologie en Textiel) should be circled on your tourist guide-map. This old weaving mill has been impressively decked out, to tell the whole story of Ghent's tangled relationship with wool, cotton and the making of cloth.

Activities & Entertainment

When it comes to activities and entertainment Ghent offers visitors what one would expect from any vibrant city with a quarter of a million inhabitants. There are cinema's showing the latest blockbusters, as well as smaller independent productions, a highly acclaimed opera and several theatres.

Bands play at numerous smaller venues and bars around the city but be sure to check what's on at the 'Kunstencentrum Vooruit'. The Vooruit was finished in 1913 and acts as a centre for the arts and culture; from the hippest parties (it was here that 'I Love Techno' started) to exhibitions and concerts, it's on at the Vooruit.

Being a city with a relatively young population and thousands of students coming from all over Belgium (and abroad) to study, Ghent has plenty of sporting facilities for those who want to add a more "active" aspect to their city trip.

Ghent is also proud to have the most modern football stadium in Belgium. The Ghelamco Arena was officially opened in the summer of 2013 by King Albert, just before his abdication.

Flanders Expo, for example, is the largest exhibition centre in Flanders (and the second largest in Belgium), and is found close to the south-west of the city, on the 'Binnenring' ring road. There are several other congress centres, each able to hold between 100 and 1,000 people.

As a University town, Ghent is well used to the handling of conferences and conventions. It also has a surplus of those increasingly-important cultural resources – world-class heritage, fabulous hotels and a vast selection of great restaurants – that make entertaining and business meetings a profitable pleasure.

The local 'Gent Congres' office is especially focussed on helping businesses to develop their convention, meeting and exhibition ideas in the city. It can advise on the logistical side of organizing meetings and conventions, and suggest the best venues and locations.

'Gent Congres' will even help with enquires on the availability of venues, and can help get discounts and special offers from hotels, convention and exhibition centres, and group-booked restaurants.

Since then the Festival has mushroomed into a monster, including 9 other festivals under it's awnings. These include the Gent Jazz festival, the International Puppet Busker festival, the Belgian Summer Sing choral festival, and 'Ten Days Off', an electronic dance festival.

A thrilling spectacle that comes to Ghent every year is the 'Six Days of Flanders' event, which sees nearly a week of top-class indoor cycle racing, in the 'Kuipke' velodrome.

Belgians are quite seriously fanatical about their cycling, and the town has long been host to the cream of international cycling talent (including the father of Bradley Wiggins).

More sporty activity can be had (or viewed) at the annual Indoor Flanders track and field meeting. This is amongst the IAAF's top indoor events,and is held at the Flanders Sports Arena in Ghent. See our Festival and Events category page for more information.

Brasserie Dubussion prides itself on tradition and taste. Learn about the rich history, beers and brewing at the oldest brewery in Wallonia. You can visit this authentic Belgian brewery, see brewing in action, as well as taste some of their delicious brews for yourself, including their legendary Bush (Scaldis) beer range.

Established in 1991 and located in the heart of the “Montmartre” nightlife district of Ostend, this is a favoured hangout for beer and music lovers alike. The Manuscript was the first premises to be given the official Beer Tourism Café label and is a must visit for lovers of beer in Belgium and Belgian café culture.

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